Portable golf ball dispenser

ABSTRACT

Distributor of the type comprising ball storing means and an articulated arm supplying a ball to the striking area. According to the invention, the ball storage means consists of a prismatic housing including, adjacent to each of its ends, supporting devices causing the bottom thereof to slope downwards in the direction of its open downstream end, which delimits an outlet for the passage of only one ball, its arm being articulated about a pivot pin in the housing. The distributor comprises a longitudinal chute, the upstream end being longitudinally closed, but having an opening for the distribution of a ball, while the upstream end is configured in the shape of a scoop for seizing a ball. Spring return means are placed between the housing and the arm to bring said arm into a substantially vertical position, once a ball is released.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the practice of golf, one of the most frequently repeated movementsis that executed for positioning or picking up the ball. In the practicearea, that is to say in the area where the movements involved in playare learnt or improved, and where each player exercises by driving offseveral tens of balls in succession, the positioning of each of theballs on a mat or on a tee needlessly increases the fatigue of theplayer and above all distracts him and quite often causes him to losehis positional references.

In order to alleviate this problem, ball dispensers have been proposedincluding a ball storage reservoir, means for selecting just one balland means for conveying the ball selected to the driving area.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Current dispensers of the type of those described in French Patent No.1,501,563 and in French Patent Application No. 2,616,673 are generallybulky, heavy and designed to be installed permanently close to thepractice area. This drawback, associated with their high cost and withthe complexity of their mechanisms, limits their use to organized rangesthat have substantial financial means.

In practice, these are not very highly developed because since themajority of practice areas are out of doors, there is the risk of themechanism of such dispensers being damaged by the weather.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,599,983 and 1,940,321 made known ball dispensersincluding a storage housing with an opening, means allowing just oneball to pass through this opening, and an arm articulated close to thisopening and forming a dispensing chute. The downstream end of this chutehas an opening in its bottom for dispensing the ball, whereas itsupstream end is associated with sprung standing-up means and is equippedwith a scoop for taking hold of a ball.

The first device can be used in a fixed position and has the drawbacksalready indicated. The second device can be moved around but exhibits alack of stability, a small storage capacity and allows its owner to takea certain number of balls away from the practice area with him.

This is a major drawback because since the use of the practice area iscommunal and balls belonging to the installation are used, any borrowingof balls with any device whatsoever causes a reduction in the availablestock and, through the borrowed balls being replaced, leads to anincrease in the operating costs.

Finally, most of the current devices regardless of their type have thedrawback of always placing the ball in the same location whereas, as isknown, depending on the length of the drive, this ball has to be placedforward or backward of a mean reference position. As a result, for longor short drives, the player has to adjust the position of the ballmanually, or with his club, thus forcing him to take stock of his marksagain, and distracting him.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to alleviate these drawbacks by supplyinga portable dispenser which is lightweight, small, inexepensive, easy touse, of simple operation, and positions the ball accurately, while beingeasy to adjust as a function of the length of the drive in order to giveautomatic dispensing which does not distract the player and allows himto remain in position.

In this dispenser, the storage means consist of a prismatic housingwhich, including, close to its respectively upstream and downstreamends, means resting on the ground and on a support, giving its bottom alongitudinal inclination in the direction of its downstream end, forms ahousing which is open at the top and at its downstream end and haslongitudinal walls having a height less than that of a ball andextending downstream beyond its bottom to serve as the articulation forthe arm, while this arm, forming a cover and capable of being foldedback against the housing is composed, on the one hand, of the chutelocated in the extension of the outlet opening delimited in the housingby a transverse internal wall and, on the other hand, and beside thischute, of a wall the downstream free edge of which constitutes a leverwhich, through use of a club, can be used to make the arm tilt into itsball dispensing position, and constitutes a guide for positioning theclub.

When this dispenser is put in position, close to the driving area, andis set up so that when its chute is in the dispensing position, thedispensing opening formed at the free end of this chute coincides withthe position which the ball is to occupy, the dispenser is brought intouse by placing at least about ten balls in its housing. Prior to eachdrive, the player then only has to tilt the chute forming the arm inorder to bring it from its substantially vertical position into thedispensing position. This movement is carried out by means of the club,which avoids the player having to bend down. During this pivoting, thescoop-shaped part of the chute takes a ball from the storage housing,and allows this ball to descend under gravity as far as the dispensingopening. During this movement, the wall of the bucket forms a shutterwhich prevents another ball from entering the chute. As soon as the balllocated in the chute reaches the dispensing opening and, from there,comes to rest on the ground or a tee, the means for returning the chutestands the latter back up, thus freeing the area of play and continuingto fulfill the function of closing off the outlet passage of thehousing. It should be noted that all these movements are carried outvery easily with the aid of the club and without the player having toalter his marks, that is to say having to alter his position withrespect to the ball, which allows him to progress more rapidly inimproving the movement in question.

Moreover, and this is a very appreciable result, the sliding of the clubover the wall forming an operating lever and against the edge of thechute, orientates this club so that when it leaves the dispenser it isin the ideal position for driving, which speeds up the learning process.

In order to modify the position in which the ball is dispensed withrespect to the mean driving position, while benefiting from automaticdispensing, all that is required is to shift the whole dispensersideways, this being all the more easy as it is lightweight and easy toadjust.

Finally, the dimensions of the housing allow it to accomodate a certainnumber of balls, generally between 17 and 18, but do not allow it to beclosed again by means of the cover formed by the arm as long as itcontains a ball, which prevents it from being used to take balls awayfrom the practice area.

In one embodiment of the invention, its downstream means for resting onthe ground interact with holding spaces projecting vertically from oneof the ends of a plate for positioning relative to the practice areamat, this plate at its other end, which is inserted under the mat,including upwardly projecting spikes.

This simple arrangement improves the accuracy with which the housing canbe positioned with respect to the practice mat.

In another embodiment, its downstream means for resting on the groundinteract with holding spaces projecting from the web of a rigid fork,the legs of which can be pushed into the ground after they have passedthrough the perforations in a small plate, this small plate forming oneof the ends of a transverse arm made of an elastically deformablematerial which, at its other end, has an open ring for positioning aball.

This flexible and deformable structure replaces the tee for playerstraining directly on grass.

Other features and advantages will emerge from the description whichfollows with reference to the appended diagrammatic drawing representingone embodiment of the diameter according to the invention, by way ofnon-limiting example.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the dispenserwhen it is in the dispensing and use position,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the dispenser showing it when it is inthe transportation position,

FIGS. 3 and 4 are part views in longitudinal section of the dispensershowing it when it is respectively in the dispensing position and in thestandby position,

FIG. 5 is a transverse section on V--V of FIG. 3,

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the dispenser when it isinteracting with a positioning plate,

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a structure for positioning the ball ongrass interacting with the dispenser.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In general, this dispenser is composed of a prismatic housing denoted bythe reference 2, of an arm 3 articulated, about a transverse axisembodied by pivots 4, to the housing 2 and of supporting meanscomprising a downstream underframe 5 and an upstream hook 6.

The housing 2 which, in the embodiment represented, is composed of twotelescopic elements, has the overall shape of a parallelepipedalhousing, open at the top and longitudinally, at its front end. At thisend, and as FIGS. 3 and 4 show in more detail, its bottom 7 has a cutout8 to allow the free rotation of the corresponding end of the arm 3.Close to this cutout 8 the housing 2, as shown in FIG. 1, has aninternal wall 9 inclined transversely and directing the balls 12 towardsan outlet opening 10. The longitudinal walls 11 of the housing have aheight less than that of a ball 12 and are separated by a distancegreater than that of a ball, in order to form a receptacle which canaccommodate two rows of balls and, for example, about 18 balls.

The arm 3, which is articulated about pivots 4 to the lateral walls ofthe housing 2, forms a cover which can be folded back against thehousing. In the extension of the outlet opening 10 it has a chute 13 forguiding the balls 12. At its free and downstream end with respect to thehousing, this chute 13 is closed off longitudinally by a half ring 14delimiting an opening 15 coinciding with an opening made in its bottom.Of course, the opening 15 has a diameter slightly greater than that of aball 12 so as to allow this ball to pass through it freely.

At its other end, the chute 13 is shaped like a scoop 16 by means of thetransverse wall 17 of the arm 3, which wall is in the shape of an arc ofa circle of center coincident with the pivot 4 by which the arm ispivoted on the housing 2. When the arm 3 is in the shut off positionshown in FIG. 4, the free edge of the scoop 16 is in the extension ofthe bottom 7 of the housing 2 and extends under the awaiting ball 12.

The articulation by means of which the arm 3 is articulated with respectto the housing 2 is associated with return means capable of returningthe arm from its dispensing position represented in thick line in FIG. 1to its standby position in which it closes off the outlet passage,represented in chain line in the same figure.

In one embodiment and as shown in FIG. 5, the return means consist of atorsion spring 20 located around one of the pivots 4 and one of the endsof which is hooked onto the housing 2 while the other end is hooked ontothe arm 3.

This articulation is also associated with means for holding the arm 3 inposition in the standby position, which means, in this embodiment,consist of a retractable finger 22 located in the path of the arm 3 andthe body 23 of which is fixed to the housing 2, close to the pivot 4.

The support means of the housing 2 consist of a downstream underframe 5articulated about the underframe pivot 24 to the housing 2 and of a hook6 projecting from the upstream part of the housing 2, that is to sayfrom that part which is opposite the arm 3. This book is designed tointeract with the upper edge or with the meshwork of a basket 26generally used to supply balls to the players.

It is clear that the hook 6 may be replaced by an underframe of the sametype as that of 5, but higher up, so that in the position of use asshown in FIG. 1, the housing assembly is inclined at leastlongitudinally, dropping down from the upstream part of the housing toits downstream part.

Advantageously, and to facilitate the accumulation of the balls 12 onthe outlet opening 10 side, the downstream underframe 5 is lower on theside of this opening 10 than it is on the other side, in order to givethe housing a transverse inclination.

It will be understood that it is very easy to position this dispenser sothat the half ring 14 formed at the end of the chute 13, when the arm 3is in the dispensing position, curls round a tee 25 or the area on whichthe ball is to be deposited.

Before exerting himself and assuming the driving position, the playerhas first of all to take at least about ten balls 12 from the container26, and tip them into the housing 2. From then on, for each drive, theplayer then need only cause the arm 3 to pivot into the dispensingposition represented in solid line in FIG. 1, using his club. Tofacilitate this operation the arm 3 is equipped, beside the chute, witha wall 21, the free end of which has a notch 21a to form a means inwhich to hook the club.

As FIG. 4 shows, pivoting the arm 3 in the direction of the arrow 27allows the scoop 16 to take up the first awaiting ball 12, becominginserted between this ball and the next ball.

As soon as the ball is running down the chute 13, the arm 3 is held inthe dispensing position by the weight of this ball 12, which position itmaintains until the ball, reaching its downstream end, escapes throughthe opening 15 and comes to rest on the tee 25. From that moment on, thearm 3, freed of the weight of the ball, is returned by the torsionspring 20 to its standby position delimited by the retractable finger22. This pivoting allows the chute 16 to become inserted under the nextball, thus getting ready to take hold of another.

It should be noted that the bottom of the chute, in its central part andover the part close to its pivot 4, has a rib 28 allowing the ball toroll directly on it and rapidly acquire high speed at the beginning.This outgrowth is interrupted before the ball reaches the opening 15 sothat the ball comes into contact with the edges of the chute 13 and sothat, therefore rolling on a circle of small diameter, it deceleratesits speed, improving the accuracy with which it is positioned.

Through the club coming into contact with the wall 21, and also againstthe upstream edge of the chute, this dispenser also positions this clubduring the manoeuvre of lowering the arm. As a result, at the end of thedispensing of a ball, not only has the player been able to preserve hisposition references but his club is itself also positioned for the nextdrive, just behind the ball.

The dispenser may easily be shifted sideways to suit the needs of theplayer and, for example, to allow long or short drives requiring a ballposition forwards of or behind the usual mean position.

After use, and as FIG. 2 shows, the housing 2 is shortened, byretracting its two elements telescopically, and the arm 3 is folded backagainst the housing and locked in this position. The dispenser assemblythen constitutes an assembly of small bulk which can easily be placed ina pocket.

Since the folding back movement is possible only if the storage magazinecontains no more balls, the housing cannot be used for taking balls awayfrom the practice area.

In a variant embodiment, the articulated arm 3 is also telescopic so asto free even more of the driving area when it is in the substantiallyvertical standby position in which it closes off the outlet opening.

FIG. 6 shows that to make it easier to position the dispenser withrespect to a rubber mat 30 on a practice area, its underframe 5interacts with holding spaces 32 formed at one of the ends of a plate 33made of a rigid material, and for example a synthetic substance. Theother end of the plate is equipped with spikes 34 projecting upwards andpushing under the mat 30 after the end in question of the plate 33 hasbeen located underneath.

With this plate 33, the position given to the dispenser is stable, butcan nevertheless be altered to suit the play.

FIG. 7 shows an accessory making it possible to use the ball dispenseron a grass practice area which therefore does not have a referencesurface like concrete practice areas do. This accessory is composed of apositioning fork 35 and of a transverse arm 36. The fork 35 is made of arigid material and includes, projecting on either side of its web,namely downward, legs 37 which can be pushed into the ground and, at thetop, two spaces 38 for holding the underframe 5 of the dispenser.

The arm 36 is made of an elastically deformable material such as rubberor elastomer. It comprises, on the fork side, a small plate 39 equippedwith perforations 41 through which the legs 37 can pass and, on theother side, an open ring 40 for positioning a ball, the ring having anoutside diameter which is smaller than that of a ball.

In use, the arm 36 is placed on the grass and is fastened by the fork 35pushed into the ground, while the underframe 5 of the dispenser is heldin the spaces 38.

Under these conditions, the pivoting of the arm 3 of the dispenserconveys the ball 12 to the ring 40 which acts in lieu of the tee 25.During driving, the club strikes the ball above the split part of thering 40. If it touches the ring 40, the elasticity of the arm 36 returnsthis arm to its starting position.

I claim:
 1. A portable golf ball dispenser of the type including storagemeans with an outlet opening allowing just one ball through, and an armarticulated about a pivot close to the opening and forming a dispensingchute, the downstream end of which chute is closed off longitudinallybut is equipped with a bottom opening for dispensing a ball, and theupstream end of which is associated with a means with a spring forstanding it up vertically, and is equipped with a scoop for taking holdof a ball, wherein said storage means comprises a prismatic housingwhich includes, close to its respectively upstream and downstream ends,support means resting on a playing surface and on a support, giving abottom ball supporting surface of said housing a longitudinalinclination in the direction towards its downstream end, forms a housingwhich is open at the top and at its downstream end and has longitudinalwalls having a height less than that of a ball and extending downstreambeyond its bottom ball supporting surface to serve as the articulationfor the arm, while this arm, forming a cover and capable of being foldedback against the housing comprises, first, the chute located inalignment with the outlet opening of said storage means delimited in thehousing by a transverse internal wall and, second, and located besidesaid chute, of a wall the downstream free edge of which constitutes alever which, through use of a club, can be used to make the arm tiltinto a ball dispensing position, and which comprises a guide fopositioning the club.
 2. The dispenser as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe pivot via which the arm pivots on the housing is associated with aretractable means for holding the arm in a substantially vertical returnposition, in which position it closes off the outlet opening
 3. Thedispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support means of thehousing consist, upstream, of a hook projecting vertically and outwardfrom a transverse wall of said housing and capable of interacting with acontainer containing balls and, downstream, of an underframe.
 4. Thedispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support means of thehousing, located downstream, are shorter on a transverse side of saidhousing including the outlet opening, so as to incline the housingtransversely to said side.
 5. The dispenser as claimed in claim 1wherein said scoop of the arm consists of a transverse wall which,closing the chute upstream, is bent into a circular arc of centercoaxial with the pivot by means of which the arm pivots on the housing,the edge of this wall, when the arm is in the position for closing offthe outlet passage, coming into alignment with the outlet opening ofsaid storage means beneath an awaiting ball.
 6. The dispenser as claimedin claim 1, wherein at least one of the elements comprising housing andarm is composed of two telescopic elements increasing its length when inuse.
 7. The dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein a bottom surface ofthe chute includes, from downstream to upstream in the direction inwhich a ball runs, an acceleration zone delimited by a rib projectingfrom said bottom surface, and a deceleration zone without a rib in whichside walls of said chute come into contact with a ball travelling insaid chute.
 8. The dispenser as claimed in claim 1 in combination with apositioning plate for positioning said dispenser relative to a practicearea mat, wherein said downstream support means interacts with holdingspaces projecting vertically from one of the ends of said positioningplate which is partially placed under said mat, this plate at its otherend, which is inserted under the mat, including upwardly projectingspikes.
 9. The dispenser as claimed in claim 1 in combination with arigid positioning fork, wherein said downstream support means interactswith holding spaces projecting from a web of said rigid fork, aplurality of legs of which can be pushed into a soft playing surfaceafter they have passed through perforations in a small plate, said smallplate forming one of the ends of a transverse arm made of an elasticallydeformable material which, at its other end, has an open ring forpositioning a ball.